![]() ![]() The fish caught are of higher quality because they are fresher, he said. Shester and other proponents of the new gear said while saving sea life, the change also leads to higher quality swordfish – which are being sold for more than what drift net-caught swordfish sells for. There has been a notable reduction in other species caught, according to the data. In 2022, 20 tons of swordfish were fished by net and 40 tons were hooked by buoy gear and speared by harpoon – but Shester said the fish have generally been harder to find recently. In 2020, 24 tons of fish were caught by net, and 90 tons were captured by harpoons and buoy gear. In January, President Joe Biden signed legislation to phase out the remaining federal permits and implement a nationwide ban on large mesh nets by 2027.Īccording to data from the Pacific Fisheries database, 123 metric tons of swordfish were caught by drift net, and 49.5 metric tons were caught by a combination of harpooning and buoy gear in 2017 before the legislation to transition to new gear. ![]() Some fishermen sued, and the state settled the lawsuit by not implementing the ban on drift net fishing for those with federal permits. Oceana subsequently raised more than $1 million to activate the legislation, Shester said, and the Ocean Protection Council and California Legislature put in the remaining funds of $2.2 million to allow all the fishermen who signed up for the transition program to participate. And the nets - invented by two San Clemente fishermen - often caught more than swordfish, including whales, dolphins and sea turtles, earning them the name “curtains of death.”Īctive fishers who agreed to abandon the drift nets were offered a $110,000 buyout. Mesh drift nets were often unattended for hours as they floated across the ocean, mostly between sunset and sunrise. The buoy gear is set to catch fish during the day and fishermen stay close to monitor for catches. “A thriving and profitable swordfish fishery that does not threaten marine life is a win-win for everyone and represents one of the great success stories of fisheries management and ocean conservation, not just here in California but in the nation,” Shester said, adding that the buoy gear is a happy medium between drift nets and the other traditional option of harpooning. Geoff Shester, a senior scientist with the nonprofit advocacy group Oceana, is among those who have been pushing for the new gear for years and called the new permits “a banner day for whales, dolphins and sea turtles that swim off our shores,” while also being “a massive leap forward for sustainable swordfish fishing in California.” The plan is to develop a new fishery using the gear and issue 25 new permits each year until 2027. The permits are going to the drift net fishermen who first agreed to pioneer the new gear and to fishermen who took buyouts to ditch the mesh nets permanently. ![]() The National Marine Fisheries Service recently issued its first 50 permits to fishermen using a new deep-set buoy gear that, unlike the mile-long, 100-foot-wide nets that drift in the ocean to tangle up fish, uses hooks to target only swordfish. Permits are being issued to commercial swordfish fishermen who forgo large drift nets for a new system that won’t also capture whales and dolphins. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |